Rdio buys Dhingana to enter Indian market

Rdio, a San Fransisco, USA based music streaming portal has acquired the shuttered music streaming service Dhingana, reports ET. The deal aims at Rdio’s entry into Indian market with the launch of Rdio India.

Although, the amount is undisclosed, the Dingana founders, Snehal Shinde and Swapnil Shinde will soon join the executive team at Rdio.

Dhingana was an on-demand streaming service used by millions of users globally to access an extensive library of music in 42 languages. The content was licensed by global, national and regional Indian brands like T-Series, Saregama, Yash Raj, Sony Music, Tips and Universal Music. The service was also available on the web, mobile web and as an app for multiple platforms.

The company was backed by Lightspeed Venture Partners, Helion Ventures and Inventus Capital and has closed Series B round of USD 7 million in late 2012. The company suffered shut down a few months back in February this year due the difficulties faced in running the service after the T-Series refusal to renew its contract. As mentioned by Medianama, the sale is in distress and the founders have got much lesser amount than the funding till date.

Launched in August 2010, Rdio was founded by Janus Friis, one of the creators of Skype. Currently available in 51 countries along with the US, Canada and Brazil. The company is backed by investors such as Janus Friis, Skype, Atomico and Mangrove Capital Partners.

“India is a tremendously vibrant market for music and culture and one of the largest and most important in the world. We are one of very few global companies that can provide a great music experience to an expanding international audience,” said Anthony Bay, Rdio’s chief executive officer to ET.